from Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald,

The feeling will be very different for the Bruins going forward as far as the Sabres are concerned. The days when lowly Buffalo was one of the pushovers of the East are over. Hand-in-hand with a partial renaissance of the formerly sad-sack downtown area, the team suddenly appears to be a legit contender to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

We’ll quickly find out how the Bruins and Sabres match up, with the clubs having all four of their 2016-’17 encounters in the first 39 games of next season, all before the New Year.

Buffalo had a decent 2015-’16 season — going 35-36-11 — but should make a big jump this year.

The Sabres’ signing of ex-New York Islanders right winger Kyle Okposo (seven years, $42 million) represents both a significant talent boost and an indication that the team is no longer viewed as a perennial loser....

Just consider what the Sabres’ depth chart could look like next season:

•    A first line of Evander Kane, Eichel and Okposo

•   A second line of Tyler Ennis, O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart

•    A third line of Nicolas Deslauriers, Zemgus Girgensons and Brian Gionta

•   A fourth line of Matt Moulson, Johan Larsson and maybe rookie Alex Nylander (or maybe Vesey).

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